Friday, October 12, 2007

In what should have been an easy re-election of two incumbents, the 2007 election in Ward 5 has ended up as a three-way race.

The main challenger to the two incumbents is Don Iveson (who I am proud to call a friend).

Running on the message of Smart Sustainable Growth for Ward 5, Don Iveson is easily the strongest and most energetic candidate running in in this Ward. As the underdog of the race, Don Iveson's team has relied on volunteer power rather than the expensive American-style demon dialing of one of the incumbents.

Incumbent CouncillorBryan Anderson, whom I consider an "inoffensive" candidate has served on City Council since 1995 and though he has been a lower profile Councillor, has been a strong constituency worker. Much like Dave Theile in Ward 6, Anderson should beware of voters starting to think that he's been around for too long.

Incumbent Mike Nickel (aka Mr. Demon Dialer), who was first elected in 2004 after failing to be elected Mayor in 1998 and 2001, is widely believed to be running re-election in order to set himself up for a 2010 Mayoral campaign. Part of Nickel '10 includes the Nickel campaign's fronting of pro-Nickel candidates in other Wards (Tony Caterina in Ward 3, Debbie Yeung in Ward 4, and Chuck McKenna in Ward 6).

Though Nickel has a reputation as an opponent towards any City involvement that does not include bare bones core services (such as his strident opposition to the Universal Bus Pass for University of Alberta and Grant MacEwan College students) he should be respected for standing firm and actually believing in his Ronald Reaganesq-vaules. That said, it's 2007 and the Reagan-era ended in 1988.

With serious transportation and urban sprawl issues facing Ward 5 now and in the immediate future, it's important that Edmontonians in Ward 5 look carefully at these candidates and support the candidates who will fight for smart growth in Ward 5.

Thanks for your blog. I'm a little disappointed to see labels and name calling. That's one of the things about politics that makes me cringe. Anyway, regardless of connection to any associations with future mayoral plans of attack, I like the idea of having Chuck McKenna in City Hall, because a man who works for ETS ought to have a pretty good idea of its shortcomings and how to overcome them in a cost effective manner. Not sure if you've noticed or not, but he's got a lot of supporters. Let's see what happens Monday.

For those in the Edmonton Gold Bar riding not afraid of conservative values, check out who's got the best chance of ousting the Liberal incumbent come the next election.

Although I'm almost certain that "no more commies!" is a joke post, I just want to point out that "Smart Growth" as a movement (and not just related to the Iveson campaign) is about creating a plan for a city so that it doesn't expand chaotically and end up costing far more in the future.

Ultimately it's about protecting a city from a growth bubble bursting, lowering long-term infrastructure costs and raising property values. I'm not sure what's especially right or left wing about that.

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Who is Dave Cournoyer? I am a writer, blogger, communicator, occasional media pundit, political watcher, & proud life-long Albertan. I studied Political Science at the University of Alberta and have served as Vice-President (External) of the U of A Students' Union, Chair of the Council of Alberta University Students, and communications coordinator for Alberta's official opposition party.